Corporate Sustainability Report

Corporate Sustainability Report

People are at the heart of everything we do and everything we create. Recognizing and celebrating this truth drives our approach to sustainability.

Reporting Our Progress

True progress takes continuous and coordinated efforts to create the economic, environmental and social conditions that allow people and communities to thrive. We have strong beliefs that guide us, and we’re putting our beliefs into action.

Every day, in every decision, we work hard to deliver on our purpose and create real world results.

We share these results in an authentic and transparent way in our annual Corporate Sustainability Report.

Products

Overview

Overview

Designing for Sustainability

We believe that providing the best solutions for our customers begins by ensuring they’re the best solutions for our environment. That’s why every step of the way – through design, manufacturing, delivery and product lifecycle – we consider the impact of our work on people and on the environment and uncover opportunities to make things better.

Materials Chemistry

Materials Chemistry

Knowing. Acting. Solving.

We take a comprehensive approach to understanding what goes into our products we’re both precautionary and proactive.

As a leader in our industry, our materials chemistry practice assesses materials to understand their potential impacts on human and environmental health. To date, we have assessed over 1,600 materials. We are actively working with our supply chain to eliminate and phase out materials of concern and to develop suitable alternatives where they may not yet exist.

End of Use + Recycling

End of Use + Recycling

Closing the Loop

Good design and choosing the right materials can ensure a product will be desirable and have a long life. It also can ensure the product can be recycled. Our products are designed for easy disassembly, allowing pieces to be separated easily and quickly for replacement or recycling.

Our products are built to last; sometimes they outlast customer needs.Therefore, we offer multiple programs to extend a product’s lifespan through reuse and recycling, refurbishing and donating. These end of use services keep furniture out of landfills, provide non-profit organizations with needed resources and help customers meet their sustainability goals.

Insights + Strategies

People + Purpose

Customers often turn to us to do more than provide furniture for workspaces. We’ve helped optimize real estate and create spaces that support employee wellbeing. And though these are important elements of any workspace, we’re looking ahead and shifting the conversation to something larger – the promise of people. Today, we’re focusing on helping customers create spaces designed to accomplish an array of goals.

End of Use Strategies

Every year, we extend the useful life of thousands of products. Through our end of use program, we’re helping businesses dispose of their surplus office furniture in socially, economically and environmentally responsible ways. First, we work with them to understand the situation. Then, with our partners, we present options that meet their goals, whether it’s income, landfill diversion or charitable donation.

Our Promises

Customers

Helping our customers succeed in their business and meet their sustainability goals is priority number one at Steelcase. We deliver on that commitment with research-backed strategies, innovative end of use solutions, a robust supply chain, and products that help unlock the promise of our customers’ employees.

Communities

We value our global relationships, sharing our resources, talents, materials and leadership to tackle entrenched issues like education and environment. Change happens on the local level, and we’re working hard to make a difference for individuals, communities and all of humankind.

Partners

Creating lasting change takes a committed team, and we’re fortunate to work with some of the finest partners in the industry. From universities to suppliers, dealers to community organizations, we’re forging a more innovative, sustainable future through collaboration.

Employees

We honor the unique talents, skills and perspectives of our employees, knowing full well that their contributions are what propel us. We value the whole person, and seek to help each employee fulfill their highest potential through policies, practices and honest engagement.

Environment

Simply complying with standards isn’t enough anymore. We’re working to conserve more, use less, find better ways, source more responsible materials, and leave a legacy of positive change that benefits us all.

Ourselves

We’re taking a hard look at our actions, putting sustainability at the center of the decision wheel, and implementing organizational change to be the most economically, socially and environmentally responsible company we can be.

News

Today Steelcase announces the company has been named a finalist in The Circulars, the world’s premier circular economy award program. Open to individuals and organizations from the private and public sectors as well as civil society, the awards showcase advances that drive innovation and growth while reducing dependence on scarce natural resources.

Steelcase celebrates its global sustainability performance with the release of its 2017 Corporate Sustainability Report. This year, the company made continued progress on its environmental 2020 goals, set a record for employee volunteerism and received recognition for its leadership and innovation in circular economy principles.

Today, Steelcase celebrates notable progress of the company’s sustainable performance around the world. Over the past year, Steelcase pursued a number of continuous and coordinated efforts to demonstrate the company’s commitment to being a responsible corporate citizen and partnering with customers, dealers, suppliers and communities to make meaningful change.

The Business Roundtable (BRT) released its 2016 Sustainability Report. Steelcase’s sustainability vision and achievements were highlighted by Jim Keane alongside fellow BRT members that include some of the top U.S. companies. The BRT companies represent nearly one-third of the total value of the U.S. stock market.

Steelcase announced a new 12-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Apex Clean Energy for 25 megawatts of wind power. This latest investment will make up nearly half of Steelcase’s 100% renewable energy purchases, directly support the construction of a new clean energy facility set to begin operations in 2016, and further diversify the company’s renewable energy portfolio.